In commerce, many goods are sold as bulk materials. The term “bulk materials” refers to items obtained, transported, used, stored, or handled in a group, non-limiting examples of which include grain, wheat, vegetables, tea, spices, flavorings, peanuts, coffee beans, soybeans, and other agricultural products; manufactured food products (including human food and pet food products); pharmaceutical products; health products like multivitamins and supplements. Packages which are handled and shipped are also an example of bulk materials according to the descriptions and teachings herein. Each example is an item that can be broken down into individual units and grouped with numerous others of its kind for shipment.
There is a need to sample bulk materials to determine if they contain any matter that causes injury, disease, or irritation if inhaled or ingested by a person or absorbed through the skin, or matter that creates a risk of combustion or explosion, either by itself or in contact with other matter. Such matter is characterized in different ways, and depending on its nature may be referred to variously as contaminants, adulterants, pathogens, viruses, bacteria, microorganisms, fungi, toxins, toxic chemicals, and pollutants. For brevity, such examples of matter set forth in this paragraph are referred to herein as “contaminants.”
Alternatively, a need exists to sample bulk materials to determine if they contain matter that is desirable and beneficial, i.e., which is supposed to be present. Such substances include, again by way of illustration only, an additive used to enhance a manufacturing process related to a particular commodity; or matter incorporated with a particular commodity providing beneficial, nutritional, or therapeutic effects, such as proteins, nanoparticles, and additives. For brevity, all such substances contemplated by this paragraph are referred to, individually and collectively, as “additives.”
In the past, various attempts have been made involving the separation and collection of particulate matter, for the purpose of obtaining a concentrated sample that can be analyzed, tested, or further studied to determine the quality of bulk materials. In some cases, the bulk materials have been related to food, while in other contexts separation and collection have been performed on non-food bulk materials. The present embodiments are not limited to the type of bulk materials which they can be practiced upon.
When contaminants are present in bulk materials, the contamination will be borne on microscopic particles of matter in the atmosphere located near the bulk materials. Such particles exist, for example, in the interstitial headspace between individual units of the bulk materials. The same is true of additives. The particles that bear the contaminants or additives (i.e., a biological or chemical compound of interest) are referred to herein as target particles. A target particle generally can be any matter that needs to be sampled, detected, or analyzed, such as by using polymerase chain reaction, high performance liquid chromatography, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and immunoassaying to name a few non-limiting examples. Thus, target particles are those particles that are joined to any compound or matter which is either beneficial to, or detrimental to, the formulation, nutritional value, therapeutic value, efficacy, integrity, safety, or edibility of bulk materials. Illustrative examples of such compounds or matter include, but are not limited to, that which may cause injury, disease, or irritation if inhaled or ingested into the system or absorbed through the skin; or that may create a risk of combustion or explosion, either by itself or in contact with other matter, or that may react with other matter to produce unwanted chemical reactions; or an additive used to enhance a manufacturing process; or matter providing beneficial, nutritional, or therapeutic effects.
Various approaches have been tried before with respect to the collection of target particles, including the separation of target particles. One problem that these approaches have attempted to overcome, largely unsuccessfully, involves increasing the selectivity so that a collected sample contains a higher concentration of target particles because of the removal of other particles. Accordingly, if one focuses substantially on collection to the substantial exclusion of separation, it results in a collected sample without a sufficiently high concentration of target particles to make detection effective. To try to overcome this limitation, some have tried filters, screens, or the like upstream of the contactor device, but such approaches have resulted in the filters and screens becoming clogged with particles that limits the usefulness of the system. Thus, an approach is needed that accomplishes both separation and collection, and which can be flexibly configured so it can be useful in a variety of contexts in the collection and separation of a number of different target particles depending on the situation.